Sound or radiation triggered locating device with activity sensor

ABSTRACT

A portable device is equipped with a signaling circuit that responds to a searching signal (e.g., hand clap, light flash, RF signal, infrared light) generated to locate the portable device when it is misplaced or lost. The device generates a location signal to enable the user to find the device. The location signal may be an audible, light, vibration, or other signal that calls attention to the device to enable the user to find it. The device may also sense events which cause it to disable the sensor, render it less sensitive, or suppress the generation of the location signal. The sensed event is any event, e.g., heat, motion, which indicates that the device is not, in fact, lost.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.12/708,190, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,508,356, which claims the benefit under35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/153,550,filed Feb. 18, 2009, which applications are specifically incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed towards a locating system for aportable electronic device, and more particularly towards a method andapparatus for temporarily disabling a locating function in response todetecting a predetermined condition.

2. Description of the Related Art

With the proliferation of portable electronic devices, such as mobiletelephones, personal digital assistants (“PDAs”), remote controls, andthe like, it is not uncommon to lose track of or misplace the variousdevices. For example, mobile telephones and television remote controlsare notorious for falling behind furniture or becoming wedged underneathsofa cushions. Components exist to cause a device to emit a perceptiblesignal in response to a hand clap, light signal or radio frequencysignal that is generated to locate the misplaced device. A commonproblem with these components, however, is that they are vulnerable tomalfunction, such as emitting the locator signal in the absence of asearching signal; that is, generating “false positive” signals. Anothercommon problem is that such components may require a dedicated radiosignal transmitter to generate and transmit the searching signal. Thissecond transmitter may itself be vulnerable to being misplaced.

It would be desirable, therefore, to provide a locating system for aportable electronic device that overcomes these and other limitations ofprior art systems.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The present technology may be implemented in a portable electronicsdevice, for example a television remote control, mobile telephone, orkeyless entry control device. Characteristically, the portable deviceincludes a housing enclosing a circuit. The circuit may be configured toperform user-requested functions in response to input from a userinterface device, such as, for example, a keypad, using a programmableprocessor. The circuit is further configured to cause the portableelectronics device to automatically perform a locating functioncomprising emitting a locating signal, in response to detecting apredetermined first wireless signal using at least one sensor coupled tothe circuit and distinct from the user interface device. For example,the portable device may include a light sensor, microphone, temperaturesensor, accelerometer, and/or radio receiver coupled to its controlcircuit. The circuit is responsive to sensor input from such a sensor toactivate the locating function and cause the portable device to emit alocating signal, such as, for example, an audible tone, visible signal,radio homing beacon or tactile response.

The circuit is further responsive to sensor input from such a sensor toautomatically disable the locating function in response to determiningthat the sensor input satisfies a predetermined condition. The sensorinput used to trigger disablement of the locating function may come fromthe same sensor from which the circuit receives input to determinewhether or not the device should emit the locating signal. For example,input from an infrared light sensor indicating a first code value (e.g.,a binary encoded character string) may be used to trigger a locatingsignal, but this function may be disabled if the sensor detects a secondcode value within a defined period (e.g., five seconds) prior todetecting the first code value. In the alternative, or in addition, thesensor input used to trigger disablement may come from a differentsensor connected to the circuit. For example, if the locating signal istriggered by input from an infrared sensor, disablement of the locatingfunction may be activated by input from a microphone, or vice-versa.

The circuit may disable the locating function before it causes theportable device to emit a locating signal. When the location function isdisabled, the circuit will not permit the portable device to emit alocating signal, regardless of sensor input. After a period of time, orin response to further sensor input, the circuit may re-enable thelocating function, thereby enabling the portable device to emit alocating signal in response to predetermined sensor input.

The circuit of the portable electronics device may comprise a processorprocessing the sensor input using an algorithm to determine when tocause the device to emit a locating signal in response to wirelessinput, when to disable the locating function so that no locating signalis emitted regardless of wireless input, and when to re-enable thelocating function. The circuit may further include a timer, used todetermine when to re-enable the locating function. For example, ifsensor input indicates that a portable electronic device comprising akeyless entry control device is connected to a key that is inserted inan ignition switch, the circuit may disable a location function thatwould otherwise be responsive to microphone input until somepredetermined period of time after the sensor input indicates that thekey is removed from the ignition. This prevents inadvertently triggeringthe location signal when the portable device is connected to theignition switch.

The predetermined condition that the circuit tests for to determinewhether or not to disable a location function may be characterized indifferent ways. For example, the condition may be characterized bysensor input having signal strength above a defined threshold, such aswhen the electronic device is in close proximity to the primary deviceit controls, such as a television. In that case, the locating functionmay be disabled. Conversely, the condition may be characterized bysensor input having signal strength below a defined threshold. Forexample, the locating function may be disabled if the sensor indicatesthat the ambient environment is abnormally quiet or dark, to preventgeneration of inadvertent locating signals. Numerous other conditionsmay be defined for triggering or disabling a location signal, of whichfurther examples are provided in the detailed description that follows.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing components of a deviceincorporating a sensor-activated locator apparatus incorporated in aportable electronic device.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart exemplifying steps of a method for controlling alocating function in a portable electronic device.

DETAILED DISCLOSURE

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing components of a deviceincorporating a sensor-activated locator apparatus 100 incorporated in aportable electronic device. The sensor-activated locator apparatus 100comprises a sensor 110 that is coupled to a signal logic module 120. Thesensor 110 may receive a searching signal, such as an audio, radiofrequency, or light signal, which is emitted in order to locate thedevice. For example, an audio sensor may be configured to detectparticular audio signals, such as several claps in quick succession, ora light signal. Alternatively, a light sensor may be employed to detecta particular light frequency, such as with a diffused laser source or aflashlight with a “black” light bulb. The signal logic 120 determineswhether the signal received by the sensor 110 is a searching signal.

The false positive logic module 130 is employed to prevent, or at leastreduce the likelihood, of having the device generate a locator signal140 in the case of false positive signals, i.e., signals which areperceived to be searching signals but, in fact, are not. Thus, the falsepositive logic 130 may operate to prevent normal ambient signals, suchas light or sound signals emitted from, e.g., a television, radio orother source, from triggering the device to emit the locator signal. Inother words, the false positive logic module operates to overridedeterminations from the signal logic module 120 under predeterminedconditions, thereby temporarily disabling operation of the locatingfunction for the device 100.

In one embodiment, the false positive logic 130 may incorporate a timer.In accordance with this embodiment, a locator signal is not generatedfor a period of time after a specific event or combination of events.For example, the device may not generate a location signal for a periodof five minutes after the device was last used. Thus, any searchingsignals received by the sensor 110 during this time period would notoperate to generate a location signal. The time period may be user set,preset to a default time period, or be set based on adaptive logic inthe device, such as user inputs indicating when a false positive hasoccurred. The false positive logic 130 may increase or decrease thistime period based on such user input.

A suppression signal sensor 115 may also be incorporated to receivesuppression signals. Suppression signals may include radio frequencysignals, light signals, audio signals, motion signals, actuation signals(indicating that the device is in use), and other signals which indicatethat the device is not misplaced or lost. The suppression signal may bereceived via the same sensor 110 or via a different suppression signalsensor 115. Once a suppression signal is received, it may act to disablethe sensor 110 or otherwise prevent the sensor 110 or signal logic 120from receiving or acting upon a searching signal. For example, atelevision may be configured to send a dedicated suppression signal tothe suppression signal sensor 115 such that the remote control shouldnot be able to receive or respond to a searching signal while thetelevision is turned on. Thus, the user would need to turn thetelevision off, thereby stopping the suppression signal, so as to enablethe device to act upon a received searching signal. An environmentalsignal may also take the place of an ambient light, radio or audiosignal. For example, the presence of a light signal that refreshes atthe same refresh rate as a television being controlled by the remotecontrol would inform the remote control to suppress (or at least reducethe sensitivity to) any response to a search signal.

Similarly, the absence of other environmental sounds, such as voicesand/or ambient lights, may indicate a likelihood that the user isasleep, and the sensor 110 may be disabled or rendered less sensitive tothe searching signal. A manual suppression button may also be providedon the portable device or on another device controlling the portabledevice.

The sensitivity of the sensor 110 to a searching signal may be based onthe amount of time that has elapsed from a suppressive event. Asuppressive event may be any event that indicates that the device is notlost, such as actuation or use of the device. For example, a device isnot likely to have been lost one minute after it was last used oractuated and may therefore be less sensitive to the searching signal orrequire an unambiguous searching signal. In contrast, the greater thetime period since the device has last been used or actuated, the morelikely the device has been misplaced or lost. Thus, the devicesensitivity to the search signal may be enhanced or increased with theincreasing passage of time since it was last used or actuated.

In accordance with another embodiment, a motion sensor, such as anaccelerometer, may be employed to disable the sensor 110 or suppress thegeneration of a locator signal while the device is in motion.Alternatively, the motion sensor may act to disable or suppress thelocation signal for a set period of time after the device is first putin motion, even if still in motion at the end of that period, or for aset period of time after the device ceases being in motion.

In yet another embodiment, a proximity sensor may also be provided. Theproximity sensor may be coupled to the sensor 110, signal logic 120,false positive logic 130, or locator circuitry 140. In one aspect, theproximity sensor may deactivate or change the sensitivity of the sensor110 based on whether the proximity sensor detects another device, suchas an RFID tag, a magnetic field, an electric field, or other. Forexample, an iPod® or similar device connected to a computer may have itslocator circuitry 140 disabled because an iPod® or any similar device isnot likely to be misplaced when it is connected to a computer.Similarly, two location devices within inches of each other may beconfigured to detect one another and cause one of the devices, i.e., theone with the higher serial number, to become disabled. In anotheraspect, two different searching signals may be detectable by the signallogic, one signal triggering the signal logic when it is proximate to aspecified device, and the other triggering it when the device is notproximate to the specified device. Thus, for example, a televisionremote control may be more easily triggered to emit a locator signal inresponse to a received searching signal when it is out of proximity tothe television it controls, as the remote control will presumably havebeen misplaced.

In a further embodiment, a heat sensor may also be provided on thedevice. The heat sensor may deactivate (or activate) the sensor 110 whenheat is detected. Such is the case when, for example, the device is inthe user's hand or resting on the user's chest.

In embodiments where the device controls another device, such as aremote control and a television, communication between the remotecontrol location sensor and the television may permit the remote controldevice and the television it controls to together suppress thegeneration of false positive locator signals from being emitted. Forexample, when the television detects that it is being asked to flashthree times by the DVD it is playing, the television may send anadditional signal to the remote control indicating that this is not, infact, a searching signal

In yet a further embodiment, the searching signal may be provided by thedevice being remotely controlled or otherwise actuated by the devicewhose location is being tracked, as in the case of the remote controlactuating a television or car keys actuating a car. Thus, for example,the car keys may include a sensor actuated by a receiving radio signalfrom the car or by detecting a unique signal within the car's horn.

The foregoing functions and activities of the locating system in theportable electronic device may be implemented using programmable logic,compiled and stored in a non-volatile memory (not shown) of the portableelectronic device 100 as encoded instructions. During operation, theencoded instructions are loaded into a processor of the portableelectronic device, causing operation of device in accordance with theforegoing description. The various illustrative logical blocks, modules,and circuits described in connection with the embodiments disclosedherein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor,an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmablegate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A generalpurpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, theprocessor may be any conventional processor, controller,microcontroller, or state machine.

Accordingly, the device 100 may perform a method 200 including steps asexemplified in FIG. 2. Method 200 automatically disables a locatingfunction in a portable electronic device using inputs from a sensor todrive disablement logic in a processor of the portable electronic deviceconnected to the sensor. The disablement logic may comprise an algorithmfor determining when sensor input indicates that the locating functionshould be disabled. Among other things, the method may includeactivating the locating function to emit a locating signal from theportable electronic device, in response to input from a search signalsensor generated at a time when the locating function is not disabled,and automatically re-activating the locating function after a period oftime has elapsed since automatically disabling the locating function, inresponse to a timer.

The portable electronic device may be programmed to enter a wait state202 after powering up and initializing, and when not performing someother function. The wait state 202 may be an untimed state, meaning thatit continues indefinitely until input is received that causes the deviceto perform some other function, or the device is powered off. When inthe wait state, the device can receive input from one or more sensorsthat may cause the wait state to be interrupted. A timer may alsointerrupt the wait state. User input, for example keypad input, caninterrupt the wait state to cause the device to perform its intendedprimary function, for example, controlling a television, placing a phonecall, unlocking a vehicle, or other function as known in the art.

Decision process 204 may be triggered by a sensor-responsive interruptof the wait state 202. Output from a sensor module is passed to a by thedevice's circuit to a processor for signal processing. For example,sensor input may be converted to digital form by an analog-to-digitalconversion module and the digital sensor data placed in short-termdevice memory. The processor analyzes the digital data to determinewhether or not 204 the signal data meets predetermined criteria for asignal indicating that the location function of the device should betemporarily disabled; for short, a “disable signal.” For example, theprocessor may compare the incoming data signal to a stored data patternfor detecting disable signals, and decide that that the incoming signalis a disable signal if congruency between the stored test pattern andthe incoming signal exceeds a defined threshold; e.g., 95% congruent.

The device operating program may include a state variable, for example,a binary flag, used to indicate whether the locating signal is disabledor not at any given time. For example, the flag may be initialized to“0” indicating that the signal is “not disabled” (i.e., “enabled”) whenthe device is powered up or otherwise reset. If the processor determinesthat a disable signal has been received 204, it may in response checkthe current value of this state variable 206. If the current state isnot equal to disabled 206, (meaning that the state is enabled, assumingthe state variable is binary), then the processor may set the statevariable to indicate that the device is in a disabled state 208, forexample by changing the binary value from “0” to “1.” Conversely, if thecurrent value of the state variable indicates that the device's locatingfunction is already disabled, then the processor may branch to theinterruptible wait state 202.

After setting the state variable to “disabled” at 208, the processor mayoptionally initiate a timer 210 for measuring the period of time thatthe wait state continues. When the timer reaches a predetermined value,the processor may terminate the wait state 214 and reset the statevariable to “not disabled” 218 before resuming the wait process 202. Atimer and timer interrupt may be used when it is desired to terminatethe disabled state a defined period after receiving a disable signal.For example, where user input indicative of user activity also functionsas triggering a locating signal disabled state, if some defined periodof time (e.g., 1 minute or 10 minutes) elapses with no user activity, itmay be desirable to terminate the disabled state and enable the device'slocating function.

In the alternative, or in addition, it may be desirable to terminate thedisabled state regardless of any timer value. Accordingly, sensor inputmay be used to interrupt the wait state 212, in response to which theprocessor may branch to the signal testing process 204 as previouslydescribed. One possible result of the process 204 is branching to theflow path described above starting at 206, conditioned on the processordetecting a disable signal. Another possible result, conditioned on theprocessor not detecting a disable signal after a sensor interrupt, isbranching to a second signal testing process 220.

In testing process 220, the processor determines using digital patternmatching or some other method, whether or not the received sensor inputconstitutes a search signal, i.e., a signal for triggering the device'slocating function. If the processor detects a search signal, it maycheck for disablement of the locating function 222, for example bytesting the value of a state variable. If the processor determines thatthe locating function is not disabled 222, it may activate the device'slocating function 224, for example, causing the device to emit an alarm,before resuming the wait process 222.

Conversely, if the processor determines that locating function isdisabled 222, or if the processor determines that the sensor input doesnot constitute a search signal, the processor may execute a statedetermination process 216. In state determination 216, the processor mayanalyze the sensor input, for example using a pattern matching algorithmto compare the input to a stored pattern, to determine whether or notthe input meets a defined condition for terminating a disabled state. Inthe alternative, or in addition, the processor may check the value of atimer variable or other device condition. If the processor determines inresponse to one of the foregoing inputs that a disabled state should bereset, it may proceed to reset the defined state indicator at 218 beforewaiting at 202. If the state is not to be reset, the processor mayproceed directly to the wait process 202.

Method 200 may be adapted to perform the various specific functions andobtain outcomes as described herein. Other programmable methods maysimilarly be capable of performing the described functions, and thepresent technology is not limited to the specific steps and sequenceillustrated by method 200, which is merely an example of a suitablemethod.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrativelogical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described inconnection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented aselectronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. Toclearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software,various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and stepshave been described above generally in terms of their functionality.Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or softwaredepends upon the particular application and design constraints imposedon the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the describedfunctionality in varying ways for each particular application, but suchimplementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing adeparture from the scope of the present disclosure.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with theembodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in asoftware module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two.A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory,EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, aCD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. Anexemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such the processorcan read information from, and write information to, the storage medium.In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor.The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC mayreside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and thestorage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

Having thus described illustrative embodiments of a system and methodfor managing a locating function of a personal locating device, anenabling disclosure has been made of subject matter defined by theappended claims.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A wireless remote control device,comprising: a circuit coupled to a user interface device, the circuitcomprising a timer; at least one radio frequency sensor coupled to thecircuit and distinct from the user interface device, the at least oneradio frequency sensor configured to receive a predetermined firstsignal from a first electronic device controlled by the wireless remotecontrol device; and a proximity sensor capable of detecting proximity ofa second electronic device, wherein the circuit is configured to: if alocating function is not disabled, cause the wireless remote controldevice to automatically perform the locating function comprisingemitting a locating signal, in response to the at least one radiofrequency sensor detecting the predetermined first wireless signal,wherein (i) the locating function is performed only when the proximitysensor detects that the second electronic device is proximate, (ii) thelocating function is disabled for a period of time after a user has lastused the wireless remote control device, and (iii) the period of time isbased on user inputs indicating that a false positive has occurred. 2.The wireless remote control device of claim 1, wherein the at least oneradio frequency sensor is a wireless sensor.
 3. The wireless remotecontrol device of claim 1, wherein the locating function is disabled bydisabling the at least one radio frequency sensor.
 4. The wirelessremote control device of claim 1, wherein the circuit further comprisesa processor processing the sensor input using an algorithm to determinewhen the locating function is disabled.
 5. The wireless remote controldevice of claim 1, wherein, in response to disabling the locatingfunction, the circuit reactivates the locating function after apredetermined time.
 6. The wireless remote control device of claim 1,wherein the proximity sensor is at least one of the at least one radiofrequency sensors.